Your Coffee Order: Minus the Added Sugar and Guilt

How many people can resist a coffee run in the morning? We often tailor our drink orders around what menu items we perceive to be sufficiently healthy. I personally have ordered Matcha waters from Starbucks thinking I was getting one of the lower calorie drinks on the menu. Though I did always wonder why their blend tasted so much better than the rest. After a bit of research, it turns out that improved taste comes as the result of 30 grams of added sugar!! I’m not really looking to get diabetes and I’m sure you aren’t either. So what can you do to avoid succumbing to similar pitfalls, and ensure that your drink won’t set back your health?

Gradually reduce the added sugar in your drinks

Not all of us are avid coffee drinkers, but most of us could use that burst of energy it brings. While you may be far away from ordering a plain black coffee, gradually begin to reduce how many pumps of flavoring or packets of sugar you put in your drinks. The sooner you learn to love unsweetened cortados, the sooner you are to kicking the sugar habit you ingest every morning.

Switch to tea

This is definitely a simple one. Green tea, for instance, contains antioxidants and can actually speed up your metabolism. It also contains enough caffeine to give you that boost of energy, without some of the negative effects of flavored coffee drinks.

Some of the health benefits associated with tea include:

More restful sleep compared to coffee

Reduced risk of diabetes

Improved calm disposition and lessened depression

Don’t mistake advertising for nutrition

Regardless of how a drink is advertised or how healthy it looks in pictures and videos, always read the nutrition information. Most big name coffee shops have extensive information about the ingredients of their drinks on their websites. Planning your order in advance at home can save you the heartbreak that comes after realizing you ingested 700 calories in about 4 minutes. Starbucks frappuccinos, for instance, are essentially just milkshakes. If that happens to be your go-to morning drink, I hate to tell you that you’re essentially chugging a chocolate milkshake at 9 am every morning.

Avoid the typical breakfast pastries

We all do it. We walk into our favorite coffee shop intending to get a small latte and walk out with a muffin and a scone in hand. No matter how much fruit is baked in, or how small it is, these extra treats are not only adding sugar and calories to your morning, but they often fail to keep you full as well, making you more likely to snack later. Coffee shops offer alternatives like egg and cheese sandwiches or oatmeal cups which are usually much healthier choices.

Got any drinks or bakery items you think should be avoided? Let us know in the comments, so we can avoid another Match water heartbreak…

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